“Oh, but my family goes there every year! It’s tradition!”
Going to the same place annually has a fun aspect of nostalgia and familiality, that’s undeniable. I don’t know who I’d be or what my childhood would look like had I not gone to Poland every summer to visit family. However, there’s proven psychological benefits to going somewhere new and exploring the Earth.
People love to go to the same beach house every year out of familiarity and comfort; it’s easy and they know they’ll love it. Travel should, however, be used to attain the opposite of familiarity— to obliterate your comfort zone, to subject yourself to unpredictability, and bask in the boundless chances for exploration and learning. Thus, the result of this uncertainty is personal growth: greater emotional maturity, agility, and creativity.
Travelling to a place you’ve never been to grants you the ability to not immediately react to emotions, but instead observe them and analyze any probable causes; then you can intentionally decide how to handle them, rather than act out of rashness. In a study led by Kerri Crowne on about 500 Americans, traveling abroad was connected to a greater ability to direct attention and energy. This ability to redirect helps humans function successfully in a multitude of situations from skills such as recognizing and displaying verbal and nonverbal emotional cues. Visiting more unfamiliar countries coupled with greater assimilation into the local culture amplified the beneficial emotional effects, and the participants maintained the increased emotional maturity long after they returned home. As you spend longer periods of time in a foreign town, you grow to understand and accept your feelings of discomfort and use them to your advantage, increasing your confidence and capability to navigate bizarre or vague situations. Asking a local where the nearest café shop is no longer becomes a dreadful, embarrassing task, but rather an interaction to enjoy.
Going to more non-traditional locations also spikes your creativity, as I mentioned. A study of about 50 Dutch workers found that after going on an international vacation for around two weeks, the employees generated not just more ideas, but also more innovative ideas for alternative ways to use mundane objects, like spoons or pencils. This could be due to the fact that greater exposure to other cultures, creation of borderless friendships, immersion in a new language, and consumption of foreign is linked to unorthodox problem solving, or simply just from the relaxation of a mental break that the vacation provided. Either way, travelling clearly has its benefits.
I can attest to both of these claims based on my own experiences. My time in Italy broke down my introverted shell and I was able to speak to strangers with no issue. I was not confident in my conversational skills, but I learned to disregard my own insecurities and push forward because I knew it would benefit me in the long run (which it did- I can still speak to strangers like it’s nothing to this day!). In Prague, my creativity felt boundless. I was returning home to an entire AP Art portfolio that needed to be dreamed up, and the proximity of the local culture combined with the beautiful architecture inspired my entire concentration.
Travelling to new places, no matter how far or near, is good for the heart and soul; I don’t think anyone could argue that.
I couldn’t agree more with the fact that traveling to new places sparks greater emotional maturity, agility, and creativity. When I was younger, I loved traveling to Florida every winter because it became familiar and homey, to a point where it was like a home away from home. Sometimes, I think that comfort can shield one from further exploring an area. So, when I had the opportunity to travel to China, it was strange not being in a recognizable place, but the discomfort allowed me to try new things and further myself culturally.
I would love to hear more about your time in China!
I agree! Traveling to new places is always more exciting and inspirational! My family has started this fun thing in recent years where each one of us picks a place to spend our week long family vacation. We find activities we could do there and estimate costs and we vote as a family where to go. So far, we have done Boston, Niagara Falls, and Florida. We were going to do Arizona this year, but obviously everything with covid put traveling in hold.
I totally agree with this concept! My family is notorious for going to the same places over and over, but I always have the most fun and learn the most on the rare occasions we go to a new place.
Not that this was an opinion piece, but I’ll throw my two cents in anyway. My family has a beach house in Emerald Isle NC, and I have been there every July for the past 18 years. I love the familiarity and comfort of knowing where you’re going and what to expect. My family doesn’t travel much so I never got to experience the spontaneity of a new place! Maybe soon.